l. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for journaling mill rolls, and more particularly, to an apparatus for supporting the journals of mill rolls for mounting in steel mills, paper mills, and the like, which can be used for supporting the mill rolls during roll grinding or resurfacing.
2. Prior Art
Rolls which are used in steel mills, paper mills, and other types of mills become worn and marked through use. When a roll is so worn and marked that it can no longer be used in production, it is standard procedure to transfer the roll to a roll grinder where it may be resurfaced. In the mill, each roll is normally supported by means of journals which are mounted in bearings in roll journal boxes. Since the bore of the journal box bearing may vary from 0.010 inch to 0.050 inch larger in diameter than the roll journal in order to provide clearance for hydraulic dynamic lubrication, it has not been feasible to regrind the rolls while they are supported by standard bearings alone in the journal boxes. Resurfacing with just these bearings would be unsatisfactory since the bearing clearances would permit a sufficient amount of play or lateral movement of the roll to permit regrinding within dimensional tolerances. This holds true even where the journals are supported in roller bearings since clearance is provided between the inner and outer races. Thus, it has been standard procedure to dismount the roll from its journal boxes and support it on special supports in the roll grinder which support the roll free from lateral play. However, dismounting the roll from its journal boxes is a time consuming and costly operation, making it desirable to provide a journal box having the required clearance for lubrication when the roll is mounted in the mill and which also provides for properly supporting the mill roll in a roll grinder without necessitating removal of the journal box. It is further desired to permit the stabilizing of the mill roll in chocks without mechanical adjustments or auxiliary equipment.
The present invention, has as one of its objects to be an advancement over the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,499, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means where a mill roll is secure within a hydrostatic bearing clearance during a grinding or resurfacing operation, and then during a rolling operation, supported only by standard tapered roller bearings.